Lumps

Starting this past Monday, I’ve been getting these lumps in my left leg, right where they removed the vein for my heart bypass surgery. The lumps are soft; if you press down, it feels like they’re fluid filled. There is also a small ridge running down where I think the vein was.

The scar at the back of the knee is the upper incision for vein removal. The lumps change in size slightly and do not hurt when I press on them.

I called the cardiac surgery nurse and sent a message to my nephrologist about this during dialysis. My nephrologist was doing rounds at the main hospital next door so she decided to stop by to take a look. The main concern is that it is a blood clot but she thought it didn’t look like one. Typically in the leg you get deep vein thrombosis (DVT) if there is a blockage while my lumps looks like they’re on the surface. Also if there is swelling, DVT will cause the entire lower leg to swell. However, to be safe, she will send in ultrasound orders to two imaging labs and I can go in next week if the lumps get larger.

Later in the afternoon, the cardiac surgery nurse called back. She said that she has seen this before and it’s probably blood pooling in the space where the old vein was. Her suggestion is for me to wear compression socks during the day to push the excess blood back up to the heart. She want me to try for a week then call her back. I have some thick travel compression socks but decided to buy a pair of open-toe sheer socks from Amazon instead. Amazon must think I’m running a clinic with all the medical related items I’ve been ordering lately.

Why do I get this feeling that I’m experiencing all the negative side effects of the surgery and post-surgery medication? Sigh…